LINCOLN—Matt Rhule knows his teams need to get the lead and keep it.
Multiple times this season, including against Northwestern on Saturday, the Huskers have given up double-digit leads. Still, Nebraska is out to a 6-2 record and is bowl eligible before the end of October.
“We can’t be up 15 and let teams comes back,” Rhule said. “But we knew that they were a 60-minute team.”
After going down 21-6, Northwestern fought back to tied the game in the fourth quarter. Then, Nebraska took the lead for good with less than three minutes remaining.
“I think our guys know what they can do when they execute at a high level,” Rhule said. “My message to them is just, ‘focus on execution. Don’t focus on the other team. Don’t focus on anything else.'”
In that win, the defense was seemingly doing line changes at times, with several players running on and off the field between plays.
“We felt like there’s just some guys, just watching practice, that deserved to play more based upon their effort in practice,” Rhule said, specifically with the defensive line. “You start to get guys banged up and worn out a little bit, so we went the other way and said, ‘Hey, we’re gonna put these guys in.’
“We wanted to reward guys who have been practicing at a high level.”
One of those young guys that got some run Saturday was redshirt freshman David Hoffken.
“The thing is that he’s really coachable,” Rhule said. “One of my big things is, I just want to see a defensive lineman when they have a pass rush, actually use a pass rush move. It sounds silly, but it happens a lot. Guys kind of just go down the middle of guys.
“David is one of the guys who actually uses his hands and feet. He’s working really hard. He’s been getting some reps. He got some reps the past couple of games and some packages. Now we’ll continue to use him more and more.”
Rhule noted that there are several injuries for the team, particularly up front. Teddy Prochazka has another torn ACL and is done for the year. Gunnar Gottula is also “banged up”.
“(Gottula) is battling through a real injury and he’s trying to play through it,” Rhule said. “I’m not sure if he’ll be available (Saturday) or not).”
With those injuries, a number of guys were rotated in on the offensive line against Northwestern, including Turnver Corcoran, Tyler Knaak, Preston Taumua, and Grant Brix. That is expected to continue moving forward.
Rhule has a history with the coach of this week’s opponent, USC’s Lincoln Riley. Riley was the offensive coordinator at East Carolina at the same time Rhule was at Temple as a coordinator and then head coach. The two crossed paths again while at Oklahoma and Baylor, respectively. Riley’s teams hold a 5-1 advantage in head-to-head matchups.
“Brilliant offensive mind,” Rhule said. “He’s gonna score, no matter what. He’s just gonna find a way to score points.”
USC has the No. 1 team in the nation for total offense, with the Trojans averaging 530 yards per game. That offense is No. 5 for scoring at 42.4 points per game.
On the other side, the Trojans are No. 68 for total defense (365 yards per game) and No. 56 for points allowed (23.14 points per game). The strength is in the red zone, where USC is second nationally in not allowing opponents to put up points after getting inside their own 20-yard line.
“They’re elite in the red zone,” Rhule said. “At the end of the day, how many yards you give up and all that stuff, if you’re elite in the red zone, you hold people to field goals, you’re gonna win games.”
You can watch the full media session from Monday below. Continue scrolling for more coverage.
Nebraska Football 2025 Schedule
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